The Artist

We decided this last week to buy Samantha some crayons that she could use in the tub. Both Steve and I were a little leary about using them (for fear of what she could do to the tub), but decided to give it a try ... Samantha LOVES them and the drawings are so easy to clean off afterwards!

Still favoring her left hand

"Mommy, do you really need to take a picture now?"

Week 2 - Gymnastics

We went on Saturday for our second week of gymnastics, and Samantha loved it just as much as she did the first week. By far, her most favorite thing to do is the balance beam. There are three of them set up at varying heights, and surprisingly, she prefers the one that is 3 feet off of the ground! We hold her around the waist (and are currently working with her to hold her arms out to the side for balance) and she meticulously puts one foot in front of the other! When she gets to the end, we help her jump off, landing on her feet, and then she squeals and runs to the other end and wants to do it all over again ... What a fearless little girl we have!

3 feet off the ground!

We have been working with her on the bars, as well. This week, she attempted to actually hang off of the bar. I was able to get a quick picture of this (although the picture doesn't really do it justice because she appears to be touching the ground -- she isn't).

All in all, I am glad that we signed her up for the class. We have 4 more weeks to go, and she is already showing improvements from the week before. She has met some new friends in the class, though she is usually running from one station to the next and has little time to totally interact with the other kids. Steve and I sure get our exercise as well!

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!

We started working with Samantha on blowing bubbles this week. She definitely tries, but it is obviously difficult for her still ... Nonetheless, she loves chasing the bubbles -- the more, the better. I was able to take this quick action shot of her the other night chasing the bubbles. She was so happy!

22 Months Old

Samantha is 22 months old today ... which means that there is a birthday right around the corner! The last six weeks have been pretty eventful, as she has started saying more words and is taking a slight interest in potty-training. Both her fine and large motor skills are developing so rapidly, that each day seems to bring with it something newly-learned. I love watching the recognition on her face when she identifies pictures in books that I ask her to find, and I relish every moment that I can in teaching her new things.

She is minicking a lot of our actions these days, which means that we need to be especially careful where we set things that might be dangerous for her. She also seems to be going through a slight "separation anxiety" phase lately where the mere mention that anyone is leaving (even someone that she has just met), brings with it a crying fit. We are working through this with her and seem to be making grand strides.

And for something new, I enrolled Sam in a Toddler's Gymnastics class at the local gym. Our first class was on Saturday (it runs every Saturday for 6 weeks, for 45 minutes at a time). Samantha had a blast! She surprised us with the amount of energy and enthusiasm that she had -- in fact, she was the "runner" in the group. She wanted to try everything and it was definitely tiring for Steve and me. But, we are so proud of her and know that she will be excited to go again next week and see all of her new friends.

Crawling through the tunnel

Trying out the hula-hoop

Using the bar with Daddy's help

A Good Helper

Samantha has always been a good helper. She usually takes directives very well and she is eager to please. I am hoping that this will carry through after we welcome our new little one into the family next year. If it does, it will make for a very smooth transition (or so I hope).

Today, she helped me by throwing trash away in the kitchen wastebasket when I asked her. While she hasn't mastered the foot pedal yet, she enjoys opening the lid and watching the trash fall into the basket. I have to be careful with this skill though, because I occasionally find things in the basket that shouldn't be there (i.e. her toys and books).

Watching the trash fall

"All done, Mommy!"

A Trip to the Orchard

We decided that since yesterday was such a nice day, that we would take a trip out to the orchard to surprise Grammie and Papa (my parents). Samantha had such a great time!

I think that her favorite thing was digging deep into the bins of apples and picking out certain ones that she thought that she wanted to eat. After a while, she discovered that she could sort them (like Grammie was doing), by throwing them into the adjacent bin. It was so cute to watch her toss the apples into the "cider bin." She was such a good helper!

Inspecting the apples

Taking time to bite into one of the apples

Thinking about swinging

Trying to climb the fence so that she could get a better view of the animals

More Cereal, Please ...

Steve was having a bowl of cereal for breakfast the other morning and Sam decided to climb up on the adjacent chair and join him. We haven't ever tried giving her cereal with milk before (she has dry cereal and oatmeal on a regular basis though) and she really seemed to love it! In fact, I think that Daddy had to end up getting himself a new bowl of cereal after that ...

We are so excited to announce that Samantha is going to be a big sister at the end of Winter! Our families have known for about 6 weeks now, but I have waited to post the news on our blog until I felt that I was over the "scary part" and knew that the pregnancy was progressing as it should. I am officially 14 weeks pregnant now and am starting to feel much better ...

Like with Samantha, we have chosen to be surprised about the sex of the baby. To me, it is one of the biggest and best surprises in life and it made Samantha's birth even more special (if that is possible).

Our ultrasound is scheduled for October 7th, and I am excited to see this new little one on the screen, but the gender will be kept a secret from us. Most everything that we have left-over from Sam (with the exception of clothes) is gender-neutral, so we will be prepared either way.

14 weeks

Steve and I are so thrilled about this new addition to our family. We have told Samantha that she is going to be a big sister and while I know that she doesn't grasp that concept yet, she does seem to understand that there is a baby in Mommy's belly. I always ask her where Mommy's baby is and she immediately lifts my shirt and points to my belly button (which is starting to expand quickly these days). Sam is going to be such a big helper and I look forward to seeing how she will interact with her new baby brother or sister.

A little of this ... and a little of that

A couple of weeks ago, Grandpa Lapinski found this potty chair for Samantha. It's very sturdy and the best part is that it has a little book holder on the side! Sam's real interest right now lies in following anyone into the bathroom and then sitting on the potty with her book. I couldn't resist taking this picture a little while ago ...



We have been spending as much time as possible outside these days and Sam seems to really enjoy picking up rocks, stone, leaves ... and worms!

I started back to school this week (after having a month off after teaching the summer session). I am back to teaching in the evenings, three nights a week, and have enjoyed my classes so far. I am teaching two chemistry labs and a chemistry lecture this semester. This time that I am away in the evenings allows some extra time together for Sam and Steve (and my mother helps out on Mondays because I also teach an afternoon class). It is a small adjustment to get back into this routine, but Samantha is doing much better with it now that she is older and more independent ...